Civic Democrat leader says party should clarify stance on euro

Outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has said that his Civic Democrat party should take a clear stand on adoption of the single currency euro and he would push for such a positron to be included in the party programme for upcoming elections. Mr Topolánek said his party should stop treating the euro and the EU’s reforming Lisbon Treaty as ideological issues during a tv interview on Sunday. Mr Topolánek promised at the start of the year that the government would announce its stance on when the euro could be adopted by November 1. He said on Sunday that it was now uncertain whether this deadline could be kept. But he said he would push for Czech ratification of the Lisbon Treaty ahead of elections to the European Parliament in June. The treaty has still to get through the Czech upper house, the Senate.

Author: Chris Johnstone